Daily Yellowstone journal., 1887-06-17
INVENTION OF LsArHeaN ARTILLERY

~ Battle Of Lsipsic Won by Cannon
Made of Tanned Hides-Thc Result.
IL is perhaps not very well known, but
lather cannon have been actually tried
On the battlefield, and what is more,
turned the tide of one Of the greatest bat
ties of modern times. The inventor of
kafhern artillery was q certain Col.
Robert Scott, a Scotchman, in the service
Of Charles l of England. The military
science Of that day was exceedingly crude,
and the means of warfare were cumbrous
and difficult of use. The field pieces
particularly were great machines of iron
and brass, immensely unwieldly and un-
manageable. Col Scott set TO work to
solve the problem of making guns more
portable, and yet without loss of pro-
jectile force. Whether the lines quoted
were in vogue at that time or not is not
known, but the fact remains that the in
genious colonel came to the conclusion
that for the purpose he had in view there
was nothing like leather" OF hard
ened leather, therefore, he constructed
guns and experimsntally tried them. The
result was they were pronounced supe-
rior to guns made Of brass or iron.
But like many an inventor since his
time, he could not make his own
trymen see the value Of his discovery.
King Charles snubbed him and military
men laughed at him. But it was the day
Of the Dugald Dalgettys, when soldiers of
fortune abounded and a warrior could
easily betake himself from one nation to
another and find plenty Of var or his
hands. II was the time Of the Thirty
Years War, so the Scotch colonel raised
a company of 200 men and went over to
Sweden, where he lilaced himself and his
leather cannon at the service of Gustavus
Adolphus. The Great Swede, who was
the bulwark Of the Protestant forces, APP
preciated the ability Of the Scotchman
and the value of his invention and made
him quartermaster general of his army.
After five years of service with Gustavus,
he went TO Denmark and was made gen.
eral of artillery in the Danish army. Up
10 this time there seems TO DO no record
Of the use of leather guns in actual battle,
but the fame of Col. Scott spread back to
England, and King Charles i now de-
sired TO obtain the services Of his own
Subject. Scott accordingly returned and
was welcomed with open arms by Charles,
who heaped much honor upon him, and
many substantial tokens of his favor.
The colonel, however, did not live long to
enjoy the favor of his sovereign, nor to
know Of the greatest triumph of his in
vention. He died in 1881, and a monu-
ment erected to his memory may still be
seen in a churchyard in London. which
represents him a. an armor clad, fierce
looking man, wearing a heavy mustache
and a pointed beard.
In the very year of the colonel's death
was amply proved on the memorable
field Of Leipsic, when, Sept. Z, 1881,
Gustavus Adolphus achieved his splendid
victory over the imperialists under Gen.
lilly. 1t is said that it was owing to the
invention of Col. Scott that the victory
was obtained. The guns were found to
be so easily portable that a small battery
could fly from one pert of the field to an
other and thus artillery be brought to
bear when most needed, a thing impos-
sible to the heavy cannon of that period.
Certain it is that leathern artillery was
used in this great battle by Adolphus,
though it is equally certain they were
never used afterward. The reason Of
that, however, was that the leather guns
having demonstrated the value of light
artillery, a way was discovered of max
ing the metal guns lighter, and the
greater durability of the latter gave them
the superiority.-Chicag Tribune.